Talking Walls

by J. B. Brown across the street from Wayn ete School in Portland’s West End—is the ne plus ultra of the city’s most evocatively Victorian neighborhood. It’s listed for $2.999M. e house was commissioned by Maine Governor Israel Washburn (1813-1883), the rst-ever Republican in the State of Maine. From 1851 to 1861 he served Maine in the U.S. Congress. From 1861 to 1863 he led the Pine Tree State as governor for two one-year terms. Richly rewarded and well respected for his support of the Emancipation Proclamation, he moved to the Forest City to serve as Collector of Customs for the port of Portland 1863-1877, appointed by President Lincoln. In 1872 he moved to palatial o ces in the landmark U. S. Custom House in the Old Port.

Which was not exactly like being the Maytag Repairman. Portland was the sixth largest seaport on the Eastern Seaboard. A forest of masts crowded into our harbor from all over the world. We had surging culture, unlimited prospects. Built in 1868, this house astonished our city just two years a er we were leveled by the Great Fire of 1866. “Only four families have lived here since this house was built,” says listing agent Marc Gup. Born a Whig, “Governor Washburn was a founding member of the United States Republican Party,” a true Lincoln Republican.

The Washburn era was followed by generations of the Chapman family, which pulled its own magic levers of power. e arcade in Monument Square was once called the Chapman Arcade. e Time & Temperature Building at 475-477 Congress Street was originally called the Chapman Building. Inside is unabashed urban self-consciousness, as if the house has its own story-mind and you’ve stepped into an Edith Wharton novel—gleaming built-ins, curved arches, and original ceiling rosettes.

“ ere are seven replaces—four on the rst oor, three on the second. One thing you can’t tell online is the quality of natural light in here.” Upstairs, from a single spot, the magni cent central hallway offers vistas of other bedrooms and lounges. is 17-room, 6-bedroom house is so well proportioned it plays even larger than its 5,930 square feet. Soaring ceilings in the living room, library, den, dining room, modern kitchen, and three of the bedrooms help create this sensation. e third oor is entirely nished. e bright kitchen opens out to the stunning gated courtyard. Our favorite space is the observation room on the second oor, from which you can see the brick carriage house and lush mature trees and gardens. You’re the lord of the leaves here. A visitor stops short: “What a place to watch the snow fall!”

Because it’s like time travel to tour this immaculate city seat with a library larger than the Internet, it’s enlightening to hear Gup say, when we ask who’s likely to buy this house, “Young parents” coming to Portland from a larger market, likely Brooklyn or Manhattan, probably “working from home.” n

Taxes are $26,533.

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